Older people remain loyal to the same brand for life; when they travel, they shuffle about and cluster together on tour groups; they dislike venturing off the beaten path; they fear and loathe technology; they like slow-paced activities; and they’re all retired.

“The 50-year-old (and up) senior (traveller) is much more likely to be highly educated, completely independent, experiencing a sort of personal awakening, living a fast-paced lifestyle, able to enjoy life on their own terms, eager to make choices (and) excited to learn.”

For travel agents, hotels, tour operators, airlines, cruise lines, passenger train operators, even aircraft makers, the army of spry boomers expected to flood the travel and tourism industry in the next decade(s), it all means a huge opportunity, but also a challenge.

An obvious opportunity for all the revenue that tide will generate. But a problem because many of the new “seniors” - who loathe that term – will want to do things differently than previous generations. The cliché about 60 being the new 50 – or 40 or whatever – has truth to it. This is, after all, the generation that proudly coined the phrase “this ain’t your grandfather’s (fill in the blank),” denoting just how special and unique they are.

Michel Archambault, holder of the Transat chair of tourism at UQAM’s school of management, said that various factors do indeed distinguish the current generations from previous ones.

“For one thing, (many) boomers have already travelled a lot in their lives,” said Archambault. “They are in better health. And they’re pretty comfortable with technology - they know how to compare prices and services online, for instance.”

“So they want new travel experiences, but they also want comfort and shun what hurts their sensorial being - things like bad odor, blocked landscapes, lack of cleanliness.”

So what are travel and tourism players doing to cater to that segment?

You name it, said Archambault. It can be cyclo-tourism in Quebec, a wine-touring trip in California – or Ontario – a whale-watching cruise in the Saguenay, a chateau or cheese-tasting tour in France, an “urban stay-cation” exploring your own backyard,

Donavon Gaudette of the Association of Canadian Travel Agents, said that issues like reduced mobility have long been addressed by players in the trade. Wheelchair access is taken for granted on planes, trains, ships. But boomer pride is strong, said Gaudette, and even if they are in better health and more affluent than their parents, they still want to be pampered.

“They might not want to go bungee jumping, but they will go up to the top of (ski-hill) Grouse Mountain (in B.C.) in summer – in the gondola.”

Catering to the aging population can be as prosaic as operators ensuring more frequent rest and bathroom stops. Or WestJet Airlines Ltd.’s practice of making sure all of its communications are in bigger letters – including signs at the airport. But spokesperson Richard Bartrem said that WestJet also has “guest ambassadors” at check-in counters to help things along with older people. “Part of their mandate is to hone in on them because they might be a little more tired or harried than younger people,” said Bartrem.

Robert Turcotte, who owns Montreal’s Hone Groupe Voyage, said that the Florida snowbird syndrome has not quite evaporated, but “dropped tremendously” in the last few years. Older people still seek balmier climes in the depth of our winter, but are now more likely to do “auto-tours” in Cuba, Mexico, Spain or southern France.

“It’s their lowest season there too, so it’s cheaper, but it’s also too cold for the beach on the Côte d’Azur in winter, and even sometimes on (Spain’s) Costa del Sol. So their focus is a lot more on stuff like architectural or cultural tourism,” said Turcotte.

The rented cars provide freedom of movement – even in Cuba – and although hotels for the one- to three-month auto-tours are reserved, guests can tweak their reservations if they hit on a spot they just can’t leave for an extra day or two.

Susan Eng, vice-president of advocacy for CARP (Canadian Association of Retired People) said that eco-tourism to relatively unspoiled places like Costa Rica, the Galapagos and China’s Yangtze River has latched on in a big way with boomers.

For Simon Lagimodière of Hudson, retirement and travel are all about one thing: lengthy scenic, gastronomic and cultural tours on his yellow BMW motorcycle with other couples.

He and his wife Margaret have toured many places, including the Gaspé and Prince Edward Island and have just returned from a two-week spin around Spain. Odd, given that Margaret long ago dubbed motorcycles – any motorcycle – “murdercycles.”

She has refused steadfastly to ride with Simon, so the couples have perfected a system where she follows – or precedes – her husband and the others in a rented car. So far so good, said Lagimodière.

“In all this time, she made one exception to her (no-riding) rule. The ferry to the Iles de la Madeleine was going to cost $165 each way for the car. She thought that was way too much, so she hopped on to save $330.”

“She denies it but I think she secretly enjoyed it,” said Lagimodière.

“Voluntary ventures” are also booming.

“Some former teachers and police officers can retire in their 40s,” said Eng, “and are far from ready to hang it all up.”

Many of them are not the type to lounge on a beach or trudge to museums and are finding alternatives to traditional leisure junkets. They embark on voluntary missions, as did retired Toronto cop Ted Prince.

Prince, now 65, has criss-crossed the planet since retiring about 15 years ago, from Lithuania to Myanmar, Mexico, Zambia and Cambodia, engaging in various campaigns that have run the gamut from convincing Lithuanian authorities to treat wife-beating as a crime rather than a family matter to his current good works in Cambodia helping to rescue children from the sex trade.

Any down time squeezed in at the beach on occasion? “Nope,” said Prince from Victoria B.C. “My wife Alice and I just couldn’t do it. We’d feel guilty.” A remarkable focus considering his wife has suffered three bouts with cancer since their son died in a plane crash in 2004.

Retirees that dedicated do not come in huge numbers, but Prince said that there is a noticeably growing côterie of such-minded people utterly disinterested in package tours to Florida or trudging with the herd to the Louvre or the Prado.

But despite their reluctance to be viewed like their parents and grandparents, boomer seniors will still flock to classic travel patterns and destinations.

Catherine Kaloutsky of Via Rail said that intercontinental passengers can still play cribbage or bingo, do puzzles or watch movies. But there are also recent additions that make trips “more of a learning experience.”

On the Montreal-Halifax leg, for instance, there are onboard “vignettes” about the 1907 collapse of the Quebec Bridge near Quebec City, various tartans in the Maritime provinces and tide patterns in the Bay of Fundy.

Kaloutsky added that Via Rail also hires activities coordinators on longer trips who are trained to evaluate the interests of particular passengers, after which they can better judge if they are in the mood for talks on geography, history, cuisine or other cultural subject.

For their part, cruise lines don’t have to strain too hard to woo the older set. Retired or older passengers still account for the majority of cruise clientèle, which is why instead of marketing to that captive segment, companies pedal hard to dispel the notion of cruises as magnets for the wheelchair-bound or frail elderly.

And the “fun ship” theme started by Carnival in the 1980s has paid off.

Karen Candy, spokesperson for Princess Cruises, said from Santa Clarita, Ca., that her company caters to more experienced travellers – Princess offers no short cruises and has more far-flung ports of call than most competitors – and so appeal more to an older clientèle. But she added that there are now more multi-generational staterooms and suites available for families, including for kids and parents or grandparents.

Gaudette said that “on cruises, it used to be ‘have dinner at 5, be at the bar at 7 and in bed by 9’. But now they push activities and the shore excursions, some of which can be pretty innovative and demanding.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.